After 2 years and 4 months, Richard Teng has become the CEO of Binance. What is his background?

Written by: Wandering Squirrel

With the dust settled, on November 22, Binance founder Zhao Changpeng announced his resignation as CEO, stating, "I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility." At the same time, Richard Teng will take over as the CEO of Binance.

This is not surprising.

In June of this year, Bloomberg published an article titled "Binance's Regulatory Dilemma Paves the Way for CZ's Successor," predicting that if CZ resigned due to regulatory issues, Richard Teng would likely become the next CEO of Binance.

The market often moves ahead; as early as 1 AM on November 22, before the U.S. Department of Justice officially announced the news, a MEME token named Richard Teng appeared on Uniswap.

For most people, the name Richard Teng is quite unfamiliar. In fact, he is not considered a veteran at Binance. According to his profile on LinkedIn, Richard Teng joined Binance in 2021 and has only been there for 2 years and 4 months, experiencing five promotions.

Richard Teng initially served as the CEO of Binance's Singapore subsidiary, and then in December 2021, he was promoted to head of Binance's Middle East and North Africa region. In November 2022, he was appointed to also oversee European affairs (head of Europe, Middle East, and North Africa), and then in April 2023, he was further promoted to also manage Asian affairs (head of Asia, Europe, Middle East, and North Africa). In May 2023, he took charge of all markets outside the U.S.

One important milestone was November 2022, after which Teng's position was rapidly elevated.

November 2022 was precisely when FTX collapsed, which had a huge impact on the cryptocurrency industry. It not only caused losses for investors but also alerted key institutions in various countries, prompting them to reassess the crypto industry and lean towards stricter regulations.

After FTX's downfall, Binance, as the world's largest centralized exchange, had to face significant regulatory pressure.

Since then, news of various regulatory bodies interacting with Binance has been frequent.

In February 2023, the issuer of BUSD announced that it would stop minting BUSD at the request of the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

In March, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced a civil lawsuit against Zhao Changpeng and three entities in the Northern District of Illinois, accusing them of multiple violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations.

In April, officials from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) requested more information from Binance regarding its ownership structure, governance, and auditing procedures.

In May, Binance announced that it would proactively exit the Canadian market and no longer provide services to Canadian users due to changes in regulatory policies.

In June, the U.S. SEC sued Binance and Zhao Changpeng, bringing 13 charges, including operating an unregistered exchange, broker-dealer, and clearing agency.

…

In this harsh regulatory environment, Richard Teng received rapid promotions due to his expertise in dealing with regulatory bodies from various countries.

Looking through Richard Teng's previous resume, he is a Chinese Singaporean with a background from Wharton School and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, as well as the Abu Dhabi Global Market… Teng embodies a collection of impressive credentials.

Richard Teng studied undergraduate at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore from 1991 to 1994. After graduating in 1994, he joined the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and worked there for 13 years until 2007. During his tenure, he led the formulation and management of the Securities and Futures Act and oversaw Singapore's regulations on mergers and acquisitions.

While working at MAS, Richard Teng also studied at two overseas universities, namely the University of Western Australia and the world-renowned Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

In 2007, after leaving MAS, Richard Teng joined the Singapore Exchange (SGX), where he worked for 7 years and 6 months, rising to the position of Chief Compliance Officer, closely collaborating with MAS to maintain a fair, orderly, and transparent market.

In March 2015, Richard Teng joined the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) as CEO for six years, during which ADGM was consecutively recognized as "the best international financial center in the Middle East and North Africa."

Only then did he join Binance in 2021. Overall, Richard Teng's resume is quite impressive, especially since he has over 20 years of experience in government-related institutions, being both a creator and enforcer of regulatory laws. This experience may help Binance navigate the challenges it faces in terms of regulation.

In a Twitter Space, CZ mentioned that Richard Teng was introduced by an employee of the Singapore central bank, and he decided to officially appoint him just two weeks after their conversation.

Binance co-founder He Yi also expressed recognition of Richard Teng in an interview, stating, "I think he is an experienced professional manager. Since he joined Binance, his scope has been continuously expanding, and we all like and recognize Richard."

Richard Teng also reminds me of another corporate executive, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who is also Singaporean, comes from a prestigious school, and has a financial background. TikTok is similarly facing regulatory pressures from the U.S. and other countries. Compared to a Chinese individual, a Singaporean may be more suitable to face these challenges and also help better manage a multinational team.

After taking over as CEO of Binance, Richard Teng posted on social media, revealing his future work priorities:

1) To maintain user confidence in the company's financial strength and security;

2) To collaborate with regulatory bodies to uphold high compliance standards globally, promote innovation, and provide essential consumer protection;

3) To work with partners to drive the development and adoption of Web3.

What the new Binance under Richard Teng will look like remains to be seen.